Is America Beyond Saving?

In the pivotal year of 1776, Gibbon published the first of his six-volume magnum opus: The Decline and Fall of The Roman Empire. The distilled lessons of those hefty tomes proved prophetic for the British Empire and perhaps the American Empire.

“The decline of Rome was the natural and inevitable effect of immoderate greatness. Prosperity ripened the principle of decay; the cause of the destruction multiplied with the extent of conquest; and, as soon as time or accident and removed the artificial supports, the stupendous fabric yielded to the pressure of its own weight.”

“…The great Roman Empire was ruined not only from outside by the storming barbarians; but also by the internal financial difficulties, by the indebtedness of all social classes, and by the heavy burden of taxation, until, under these financial burdens, the whole scaffolding of imperialism broke down.”

This cycle of prosperity, decay, and decline has been replicated throughout national and human history. America appears to be in the midst of this same cycle. War, indebtedness, taxation, and moral decay charge like four apocalyptic horseman across this nation. In a single decade, the nation’s public debt could exceed the size of the entire economy. The American Dream has become a whimsical fantasy to today’s youth. Enter the fifth horseman: despair.

Can America be saved? Perhaps. But this nation’s days are numbered without bold and thoughtful action — not just in DC or on Wall Street, but in the hearts and minds of each American. When the better angels of our nature hold sway, America’s rise is inevitable. Acquired, not imposed, righteousness lifts a nation.

Each of us can do our part in the saving of America. Or, we can fiddle while she burns.